Why do people think that their desires are entitled to approval?

@josie: “Why isn’t tolerance enough?”

Isn’t it? As long as tolerance = support for equality, then I don’t think anyone has a problem with that. Nobody is a huge abortion fan, but if you agree that a woman should have control over her body – including the right to terminate a pregnancy – it doesn’t really matter what you think of abortion.

I think you may be over-thinking this a bit.

I wouldn’t personally call a question about having sex with underaged kids a question about homosexuality in general, but maybe that’s just me…

To actually answer your question:

Tolerance has to be enough. If, like @hominid points out, tolerance is equivalent to equality, there is nothing more that people can expect. However, an “I’ll agree to allow you to have the same rights, but I really think you’re disgusting” doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence for humanity in general. So I think that it truly just makes a lot of people sad. They’re hoping for open-mindedness, communication, acceptance, etc. It sucks to be who you are and, in ways, shunned because of it. It’s the whole “Hate the sin, not the sinner” stuff, which is, frankly, crappy.

In actuality I have more tolerance of homosexuality than they have for smokers. Not only do they not want smokers to smoke anywhere they are, they approve any measure that curtails smoker’s activities to smoke even when no real harm is present. Yet, it feels to me,—unless someone else had some unbiased concrete explanation why it isn’t, that I have to not only tolerate but be in agreement of it, and even put up being exposed to it. If the reverse were true, they would just have to sit in secondhand smoke and bare it. They see nothing wrong with exposing me to secondhand homosexuality, but I am supposed to be OK with that, and if I say anything negative or less than positive, I am a bigot, narrow-minded, and a homophobe. In the same manner some people so not even want to see a scripture or crucifix on the wall because it reminds them or give them the thought of God, I don’t want to see two hairy-faced men sneaking a kiss in the checkout line in front of me.

@josie I agree with you. My daughter has a gay best friend and she is constantly sending me petitions to fight for gay rights. In the beginning I didn’t mind doing a few but it started to be ridiculous. I am not a gay right activists but she was quickly becoming one and every time I didn’t reply to some petition she would bombard me with questions or give me long speeches about how wrong it is for people to stand by and do nothing. That it was the same as being against gay rights. Well I just am not going to take up every cause. I don’t even crusade for cancer. Doesn’t mean I like cancer or want anyone to have it.

But my point is I get what you are saying. It’s not just gays. It’s everything. If you aren’t constantly being outspoken about one thing or another, than you must be for it. Nope. Just want to live my life and be left alone and allowed to pick and choose the battles that are most important to my life. I don’t want to spend what years I have left being angry about one thing or another or being made to go out of my way to comply with everyone’s wishes and wants just to appear politically correct.

@Hypocrisy_Central What in the world is secondhand homosexuality?

Can we say that tolerance means I don’t agree with you but I will not stop you from living your life the way you see fit or deny you the same rights I have? If so, then I can agree that tolerance is enough.